Darkened Night
by SilverMoonlit
Summary: Keelyn Night has always been 'special'. She saw things that no one else saw, but those differences didn't stop her best friend from inviting her to a Christmas celebration, where her life changed completely, with no one being able to see it coming. Zacarias X OC OFC previously Kya Night, revamped story Rated M for later chapters.
1. Prologue

Author's note: Hey everybody. This is my third attempt at this story and I have revamped it...almost completely. Please let me know what you think of it. I have one week until school starts and I am hoping that I will have a lot of this story done, however, I do have a 13 month old baby that keeps me busy, so I will do my best, even after school starts back.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Keelyn, she is mine. All Carpathians and other characters you recognize/settings are the products of Christine Feehan. (If they did belong to me, I would snatch Zacarias up and hide him from the world and keep him8), but unfortunately they don't.)

Prologue

January 01

Dear Diary,

My name is Keeyln Night. I've had this journal since my birthday back in November, but I never really felt the need to write…that is until now.

A week ago, I joined my best friend, Skyler, and her family in the Carpathian Mountains to celebrate Christmas with their people, I didn't realize that my whole life was going to go upside down. You see, there's this guy…isn't that always the problem? A guy? But anyways, I don't know what whether to like him or hate him. He's so frickin' aggravating, but at the same time so desirable. I close my eyes and can't help but to see his dark steel grey eyes or imagine how soft his raven black hair would feel running between my fingers, or how the hard muscles of his body would feel pressed against me, or even the harshness of his mouth pressed against mine, and yet at the same time, I want to beat sense into him. When he's not around, I feel like I'm going to die. Like something is crushing my chest to where I cannot breathe and my heart aches for him. Then, I see him, or hear his voice and it's a relief. I've always been a hopeless romantic, but never like this. Never have I felt like this before.

Please God, help me


	2. Carpathian

Carpathian

"Hey Sky," I greeted my best friend as she opened the door.  
"Hey Keekee," she smiled, her soft-gray eyes shone with happiness that I had become accustom to. "Come on in." I smile back at her as I step into her large home.  
'I'm so glad that Sky's happy now,' I thought as my legs are tackled by Skyler's three-year old step sister, Tamara. "Hey Tammy, how have you been?" I asked her as I bend down eye level to the small dark-haired toddler.  
"Dood!" she exclaims happily.  
"That's wonderful," I smile as she begins to tell me about her walk to the park with Skyler and helping her sister make cookies. "I bet that was exciting," I tell her after she finished.  
"Good evening Keeyln," Skyler's step father's, Gabriel, voice came from the stairs causing me to involuntarily tense for a second.  
"Good evening Mr. Daratrazanoff ," I replied as I faced the tall, dangerous-looking, yet kind man.  
"How many times do I have to tell you, call me Gabriel. You're part of this family as much as Skyler is." he smiled, lightening his dark eyes.  
"Gabriel." I smiled back as Tamara squealed and ran to her father as Francesca, Skyler's step mom and Tamara's mother, came from the kitchen.  
"I thought I heard you," Francesca smiled at me.  
"Hi Francesca." I greeted.  
"Before you girls go off and do whatever it is you do, may we talk to both of you?" Gabriel asked seriously. My heart began to pound nervously as I tried to think if I had ever heard or seen Gabriel so serious, in which I could not recall any time in the three years I had known him.

My nervousness must have been showing somehow because Francesca smiled sweetly and said, "Don't worry dear, it's nothing bad, just important." I smiled and nodded back as I followed the two adults into the living room. I sat down on the large dark brown leather couch beside Skyler as Francesca and Gabriel sat in front of us in the two matching chairs.  
"Keeyln, what do you think about us?" Gabriel asked calmly. The question knocked me off guard.  
"Umm, I think that both of you are amazing and I look up to you both as my second family." I answered honestly as Skyler gripped my hand, shocking me. I looked to her as I tried to control my emotions.  
"Well, we see you as a daughter and believe you need to know the truth about us." Francesca started.  
"What do you mean?" I asked, "you're not serial axe-murders and crazed demons are you?" I joked.  
"No," Gabriel laughed. "But with all seriousness, what do you think about vampires?"  
"Please tell me you're not vampires!" I shriek. "I mean, yeah, Dracula's all cool and all but I've read some things where vampires weren't such pretty things that don't follow the rules about not being able to come in your home without being invited in and having a weakness in garlic." I rambled.  
"No dear, we're not vampires," Francesca smiled, "but they do exist."  
"Of course they exist, Count Vlad Dracul the Third and Elizabeth Bathory are two of the most famous ones. I mean after all, they did inspire Stoker's Dracula," I rambled.  
"No, we are speaking of the undead. Those without souls." Gabriel spoke softly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, suddenly realizing how dry my mouth had become.  
"Sweetheart, we are not human." Francesca stated softly. I jumped up with panic, 'Not human? What the hell? Oh god! They're going to kill me.'  
"Keeyln, we're not going to hurt you. Please sit down," Gabriel said slowly.  
"I think I should go." I whispered as I headed for the door.  
"They're Carpathians," Skyler said quickly, stopping me.  
"Carpathians?" I asked her with disbelief. "Really?"  
"Yes." she said, "they're real. Just like the vampires are real."  
"You mean…" I started.  
"Yep." she finished, knowing I was going to ask her about the ones from my favorite series.  
"Wow," I said as I just sat in the middle of the floor, letting the information sink in. "Carpathians…" I whispered. I suddenly jumped up, "Carpathians cannot be real."  
"And why is that?" Gabriel asked as I suddenly felt something in my mind telling me that I wasn't dreaming and that they were real.  
"Because! They just can't!" I reply.

"Tell us what you know about Carpathians," Francesca suggested.  
"Well, they aren't human, but they take on a human form. They have tons of abilities, such as being able to shift into different forms, telepathy, and controlling another's mind. They also have longevity, they're not immortal because if they get a mortal wound, they can die, however they can shut their systems down to appear dead so that they can be healed. Even though they have so many gifts, they have some hold backs, such as having to consume blood and not being able to go out in the sun. Also, the males lose all ability to see in color and feel emotions around their 200th year until they find their lifemate, also can be considered as the human's form of soul mate but much deeper. Lifemates are like yin and yang. The male is the dark while one specific female is the light and has the ability to restore the male's colors and emotions." I explain. "It is because of this, they cannot be real."  
"On the contrary, they are." came a deep voice behind me. I turned around to see Gabriel's twin brother, Lucian, and his wife Jaxon.  
"How did you get that information," Jaxon questioned with worry in her eyes.  
"My favoritest series ever," I smiled.  
"The dark series," Skyler explained. "Her favorites are the De La Cruz brothers." she laughed, wiggling her eyebrows at me.  
"How can we prove that they are real?" Gabriel asked.

"Seriously?" I questioned in disbelief.

"Yes." Lucian said in his velvet deep voice.

"Well the Carpathians usually take the form of a wolf or an owl," I reply nodding. 'That's gonna prove that Carpathians are not real and they are foolish.' I thought as I felt something brush my leg. I looked down and seen a black wolf. I jumped back away from the wolf and watched it turn into Gabriel before my vision turned black with 'they are real' as my final thought.


	3. Invitation

Invitation

I opened my eyes slowly and groan with pain. When my eyes were fully opened, I noticed I was on Skyler's bed. I tried to sit up, only to feel bile rise up as my head felt as though jackhammers and sledge hammers were going crazy trying to crack my skull.  
I heard the door open slightly and looked to see Francesca looking worried. "You're awake." she said, sounding relief. With the sound of her voice, visions of a wolf shifting into Gabriel filled my mind, causing my heart to pound. "Shh you're safe." she said as she quickly embraced me. "Nothing's going to hurt you." she cooed.  
"Gabriel was a wolf," I squeaked.  
"You remember," came Gabriel's deep voice. Adrenaline rushed through me as I tried to jump out of the bed, only to have Lucian grab me.  
"You shouldn't get up so quickly. You took a nasty hit to the head." he said calmly as he forced me to lay back. I whimpered in fear as I looked at the ones that I saw as family not too long ago.  
"We still can be your family," Gabriel said. "We're not going to hurt you."  
"Keekee, just think of them as characters in your books. The only ones that harm others are vampires, the ones that lost their souls. Gabriel and Lucian have their lifemates." Skyler's voice came from behind Gabriel. "And you know the females are incapable of hurting others." I nodded, knowing that she was right, as I began to think about the characters in my books.  
"Daratrazanoff," I mumbled as I began to go through the family names as it donned on me. "OH MY GOD!" I screamed, shocking everyone in the room.  
"What is it?" Francesca asked as I began rocking back and forth chanting "oh my god".  
"She must have thought about something." Skyler laughed.  
"EWWWWW," I shuddered. 'Dark Legend….Dark Guardian…. Ewww oh my god!' I thought as I looked at Gabriel and Lucian.  
"What is Dark Legend and Dark Guardian?" Lucian asked, his velvety voice compelling me to tell him and a warmth invaded my mind.  
"They're two of her books, I believe the main characters are…." Skyler started and then said, "eww."  
"Gabriel Daratrazanoff left Francesca Del Ponce when they were younger because he didn't realize she was his lifemate. His twin, Lucian, acted as if he had turned into the undead so that he wouldn't turn and find his lifemate. Lucian then tried to get Gabriel to kill him but Francesca told him that his lifemate was waiting for him. Lucian then finds Jaxon Montgomery running from her step dad, Tyler Drake, who killed anyone she got close too. Lucian stupidly challenged Drake and then got all cocky. In the end, he got shot and almost died, Jaxon killed Drake and with the help of Gabriel, healed Lucian." I rambled, knowing both stories by heart. Gabriel and Lucian looked at one another and shook their heads.  
"Okay, so I guess you know the basics of our relationship," Jaxon laughed as I stared at her wide-eyed.  
"There's…ummm…scenes," Skyler whispered uneasily.  
"Oh," Francesca blushed, "well then."  
"How would you like to meet other Carpathians?" Gabriel asked, seemingly not bothered that I knew of his sex life.  
"How do you know I'm safe? Aren't you suppose, to like, have me make a blood exchange with one of you so that you know that I won't tell anyone." I asked uneasily.  
"True," Lucian nodded thoughtfully, "though we trust you. However, if you wish to come with us to the Christmas party the Prince is throwing, then it would be best so that we know you are safe."  
"Christmas party?" I asked.  
"Yes, we were wanting to ask if you would like to go to the Carpathian Mountains with us for Christmas." Francesca replied.  
"Sure," I smiled.  
"Who would you like to exchange blood with?" Gabriel asked. "It won't be painful or unpleasant."

"Ummm….it don't matter to me. All those dumb weak ass selfish vampires are afraid of both of you, so you can pick." I laughed.  
"I never heard vampires being called weak or dumb," Jaxon laughed as Lucian nodded, apparently replying to something Gabriel had said.

"Keeyln," Lucian said as he gently grabbed my wrist. " I will be the one that will be exchanging blood with you."

"Okie dokie," I replied as I turned to Gabriel. "Are the De La Cruz brothers real?"

Gabriel nodded, "yes, there's five of them."  
"Zacarias, Nicolas, Manolito, Rafael, and Riodran." I smiled as Lucian pressed his wrist to my mouth. His coppery blood filled my mouth, I forced myself to swallow as I gagged. 'Zacarias is my favorite, even though he hasn't really been in any of the books…OOO is there a Dominic Dragonseeker?' I tried to force my thoughts to one of them.  
"Yes, Dominic is real. I believe he will be there." Gabriel smiled, "Why?"  
"Goodness! He's my second favorite. I love dragons. And I want to be a Dragonseeker," I laughed as Lucian removed his wrist. I looked over at him. "Are we done?"  
He nodded and then asked, "what do you mean you want to be a Dragonseeker."  
"Ahh well, I was wanting to get a dragon tattoo on my hip, and since Dominic is real, I'll really get to ask him." I smiled excitedly as my headache began to ease.

"Well then." Gabriel smiled softly. "It's getting late and the two of you need to get some sleep." he said to me and Skyler.  
"I should get home," I whispered. "Jace will be so worried."  
"I called and said that you were going to spend the night. He's going to pick us up around one to go Christmas shopping. I told him about the Christmas party and he said that you could go but you had to get some clothes." Skyler smiled.  
"Great!" I exclaimed. "I don't know what I would do without you, Sky."  
"We'll let you girls get ready for bed." Francesca laughed as she kissed both of our foreheads and left the room with Jaxon and Lucian.  
"Good night," Gabriel said as he too left the room.  
Skyler threw me a pair of light blue pajamas and quickly putting on her light pink ones on, trying to cover the scars of her past. I sighed as I put mine on and snuggled more into the bed.  
"Sky," I said softly with uncertainty as she climbed in beside me.  
"Hmm?"  
"We never talk about your past," I whispered. "In Dark Legend, the Skyler in there was raped and beaten countless times by her father and sold out to other men for drugs. Did that happen to you?" I asked. I felt Skyler stiffen and saw the fear and pain in her gray eyes.  
"Yes," she replied in a strained whisper.  
"I'm glad Lucian and Gabriel took care of them and took you under their protection. You really have become the sister I always wanted and I don't know what I would do without you." I said sincerely as I hugged her. "You know that it's never going to happen again, right?"  
I felt her tears on my bare shoulder, "Yeah I know. It's just hard to get over."  
"It'll be okay. You've got Gabriel, Francesca, Jaxon, Lucian, me, and we can't forget Mister Dimitri." I smiled.  
"Dimitri?" Skyler huffed. "I don't want a lifemate. I don't want to be ruled over."  
"You know that ruling over one another isn't the case with lifemates. Ownership isn't either. Look at Gabriel and Francesca, they are madly in love with one another and Gabriel would kill to make her happy, don't you want that? A man to worship you like you so much deserve?" I asked.  
"I don't want to hurt him. I don't think I could be with a man after what was done to me."  
"But you hurt him from being away from him. Sky, I know you're scared, and if he's anything like Gabriel and Lucian, he can be quite intimidating, but with you, he'll worship you and give you the time you need to heal. Trust me, girlie, Dimitri cannot hurt you." I whispered with comfort.  
"I know," she whispered back.  
"Do you think he will be at the Christmas party?" I asked with a sudden plan in mind.  
"I don't know." she said.  
"Is there anyway to contact him?"  
"I don't know. He runs a wolf reservation in Russia," she said.  
"Russia wolf reservation, huh, there's only two within that whole country." I smiled as I got up and got her purple laptop. "One outside Omsk and one along the Lena River. He would go with the more isolated one, right?"  
"Yeah."  
"Here we go, here's an email address and phone number for the reserve. Now all we gotta do is email or call him." I smiled handing her my cell phone.  
"Email," she said shyly.  
"Oh no missy, you're calling." I laughed evilly.  
"no no no no" she chanted.  
"Ah hell, gimme the phone." I sighed as I took back my phone and dialed the number.  
"What are you doing," she shrieked as I heard ringing.  
"Calling, what does it look like," I replied as someone picked up.  
"Zdravstvuĭte, Dimitri govorit. Chem ya mogu vam pomoch'?"said a male voice.  
"Hello, my name is Keeyln. I was wondering if I could possibly speak to someone that met a friend of mine about a year ago by the name of Skyler." I replied, hoping the man could understand English.  
"Skyler?" he asked.  
"Yes, Skyler Thompson."  
"Oh my god, Keeyln please hang up. Please," Skyler begged.  
"Is everything alright? Does she need me?" he asked with slight panic in his voice.  
"Sky, be quiet!" I hushed her. "No, she's fine. Is this Dimitri?"  
"Yes."  
"Do you have jet black hair and piercing blue eyes?" I asked.  
"Yes, can you please tell me what's going on?"  
"Keeyln! Don't!" Skyler shrieked, almost deafening me.  
"Skyler?!" Dimitri asked, excitement filling his voice.  
"My god you two are hopeless." I whispered with laughter. "Are you going to the Christmas party? Skyler wants to know."  
"I wasn't planning to, why?" he replied. I glanced at Skyler, who's ear was now pressed against the back of my phone, to see her close to tears.  
"You ok?" I mouthed to her. She quickly brushed her eyes and nodded. "Well that's too bad because Sky was hoping to see you and had gotten you something" I smiled.  
"She did?" he asked. "If she wishes me to come, I will gladly come to the party."  
"So, you'll be there?" I asked.  
"Yes. May I speak to Skyler?" he asked in return.  
"Hold on," I said to him as I handed her the phone. She shook her head but sighed in defeat as I glared at her.  
"Hello?" she said shyly.  
"Lyubof maya, how have you been?" I heard. 'How adorable,' I thought.  
"Okay I guess. Kind of stressed out." Skyler admitted.  
"Over what?" he asked.  
"Christmas presents and keeping them a surprise. I never thought Gabriel and Lucian were such big babies wanting to know what they're getting." she laughed and I rolled my eyes knowing how truthful she was being.

"That's hard to imagine." I heard Dimitri laugh.  
"If you were here last week, you wouldn't have thought so." she laughed.

"What happened?" he asked curiously. I tapped her shoulder and mouthed "When your done just put it on the night stand."

She nodded as she replied with laughter, "Last week me and Keeyln went shopping and they did everything they could to find out what I got, even though all we got that day was presents for Tamara."  
"Really?" he laughed as well. 'I'm glad I got them two talking. Hopefully, now she can really get to know him.' I thought as I snuggled into my pillow and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Arrival

Arrival

Three days had passed since I found out that my best friend for the past three years had been raised with creatures that I thought was mere fiction. Now I am finally setting foot on the rich soils of the Carpathian Mountains. "Remind me again why I'm here?" I asked, my nerves on end as I followed Skyler off the small plane.  
"You wanted to meet more Carpathians," she laughed.  
"Yeah, well if I knew flying was part of it I would have said they can come to me." I huffed as I silently thanked the heavens I was back on the ground.  
"I don't see why you don't like flying," Skyler smiled as she outstretched her arms and circled around like she was in flight. "It's so magical."  
"Yeah yeah yeah." I snarled. "If I was suppose to fly, I would have been born a bird."  
"Ooops. I forgot you were afraid of heights." Skyler laughed as she grabbed my arm.  
"Dislike. Not afraid dear friend." I frown at her.  
"Whatever pleases you the most," she laughed as she drug me to the train station.  
"We're not there yet?" I asked as I took in the beautiful snowy scenery.  
"Not yet, though we could get there quicker if you let Gabriel and Lucian fly us there." she smiled.  
"Fly…nuhuh." I reply shaking my head.  
"You can ride by dragon," suggested Lucian's deep voice as he and Gabriel landed behind us.  
"Really?" I asked excitedly.  
"Of course." replied Gabriel as he nodded toward the surrounding forest.  
"Good evening Gabriel and Lucian." came a deep voice before a tall male came out with piercing green eyes.  
"Oh My God! Please tell me that he is who I think he is!" I shriek excitedly.  
"Dominic Dragonseeker, please to meet you Keeyln." he greeted as he took my hand and gently kissed it.  
"Oh My God! He knows my name Sky!" I jumped with excitement.  
"You're such a dope," laughed Skyler. "Lucian and Gabriel told him about you and knew you were stressed about flying and asked him to meet us."  
"Skyler, you weren't suppose to say anything," Francesca scolded.  
"Ahhh I don't care Francesca," I smiled at her. "It's Dominic." The group laughed at my antics.  
"So would you like to get to your destination by dragon?" Dominic asked.  
"Hell yeah!" I shrieked as he nodded. Next thing I know, a green dragon stood in front of me. "Oh my GOD! Can Sky ride with me?" I asked receiving a nod from Dominic, we both climbed on and held on tight as he took flight.

Twenty minutes later we landed at a two story white house with a wrap around porch and what looked like a wrap around balcony. We got off of Dominic and went up on the porch. "Oh Dominic," I asked before he could take off again. He looked down at me. "I know this may seem like really weird, but could I be a Dragonseeker?" I asked him. Next thing I knew, he stood in front of me in his human form.  
"What do you mean, csitri?" he asked.  
"Well the Dragonseeker and De La Cruz are my two favorite families and I love dragons. I was wondering if I could get a dragon tattoo that looks like the Dragonseeker mark on my left hip." I explain.  
"I don't see why not," he smiled softly at me.  
"Great!" I jumped. "Could I get a picture of your mark? I don't wanna see anything else. I promise."  
"Of course." he smiled as he revealed his left hip. I snapped the picture on my phone and hugged him.  
"Thank you so much!" I smiled happily.  
"You're welcome." he replied. "I must go though, Solange may get worried."  
"OOO can you tell me if the De La Cruz came?"  
"All five of them are here. Though, I believe it may have been a bad idea to have drug Zacarias here. He is close to turning and is a danger to us all, but the women and his brothers believed that he should have some good memories, even if he cannot feel it." he replied sadly.

"Awesome!" I shrieked. "Lucian, do you think we can go and see them tonight? Please oh please!"  
"If you wish," he smiled at me as Dominic said goodbye and took off.  
"Awesome. I gotta freshen up. Twenty minutes be good for you old man?" I joked.  
"Watch it with the old man jokes," snarled Lucian playfully.  
"Okie dokie old man," I laughed as I followed Skyler to our room to unpack.  
Ten minutes later Lucian and I was heading toward the house the De La Cruz was staying at.


	5. De La Cruz

De La Cruz

Nervousness crept into my very being when I saw a beautiful white ranch-style house. I glanced up at Lucian. "There's no reason to be nervous Keeyln." his melodic voice said. "If you wish, we can wait until later to see them."

"Are you crazy? Lucian, I've been dreaming of this moment since Dark Secret. I mean, true, Dark Hunger came first, but the library didn't have it. Ever since then, I've absolutely loved the De La Cruz. Not to mention, the first thought that came to mind when I learned Carpathians were real was 'OMG! I get to see the De La Cruz'" I grinned up at him as we approached the porch.

"Okay," he smiled warmly at me. "Though, I do recall your first thoughts weren't about them. It was more that we were insane and it wasn't possible."

"Well, that too," I laughed as the door opened revealing a tall handsome man with broad shoulders and powerful arms. His face was angular with dark black eyes, straight nose, high cheekbones, strong jaw and sensual mouth. His shiny black hair hung freely down his shoulders.

My heart began to race as he greeted Lucian. "Lucian it is a surprise to see you."

"Oh my frickin' god!" I whispered and grabbed Lucian's hand, causing me to get a look from each hunter.

"And who do we have here?" the hunter asked looking at me.

"Oh my frickin' god! You're real?!" I shrieked, ignoring his question.

"Last time I checked," he smiled.

"I apologize for her peculiar behavior..." Lucian started.

"I bet you're Nicolas...no Manolito?" I stated with wonder as my mind raced with descriptions of the De La Cruz.

"Yes, I'm Manolito." he stated warmly, "and you are?"  
"A big fan," I replied dumbly.

Lucian chuckled, "this is Skylar's good friend, Keeyln Night. She's staying with us and apparently has known about Carpathians for a while through her favorite romance novel series."

"Yeah, they're called the Dark Series and like my favorites are Dark Hunger, Dark Secret, Dark Possession, and Dark Curse. I absolutely love the De La Cruz brothers. My favorite is Zacarias. Though I didn't like his book because Marguarita Fernadez did not match him. She cannot be his lifemate. Cannot!" I rambled looking at my feet nervously, yelling the last 'cannot' and when I looked up I found that I had gained three more pairs of eyes.

Manolito smiled sadly at the mention of his brother. "Well, I can tell you this, Marguarita Fernadez died in a vampire attack and met Zacarias quite a few times in her young life."

"Oh...so he's still single?" I questioned innocently.

"Unfortunately," said one of the two females that had joined us sadly. I marvelled at her beauty. She had soft-looking coffee-cream skin, a wealth of blue-black long curly hair that if pulled straight reached her waist, full luscious curves, high cheekbones, and chocolate doe eyes.

"Well, we have to fix it," I grinned. "I'll find his lifemate if it kills me!" I stomped my foot.

They all smiled at me. "Why don't you come in and we can discuss it," said the coffee-creamed skin woman.

"Is that okay Lucian? You can go back to Jaxon. I'm okay here, right MaryAnn?" I asked looking at her.

She looked surprised at first, then smiled kindly, "of course."

"Well then, I'll take my leave. Do not leave here without an escort Keeyln," Lucian said looking at me.

"I'm not stupid," I mentioned nodding my head. "I don't want to run into one of those thoughtless buttwipes on my own. I'm not strong enough to beat them, and I'm on a very important mission at the moment."

"Thoughtless buttwipes?" asked the male behind MaryAnn and the female with large emerald eyes and red-gold hair. His black eyes twinkled with amusement.

"You know, vampires." I smiled, "they completely thought of only themselves and they're worthless enough that they could be used for buttwipes, but even that would be too good for them." I growled.

"Such colorful descriptions," laughed Lucian.

"I agree," laughed Manolito.

"Oh leave me alone," I sighed.

"Well, I'll take my leave. Be good Keeyln. I mean it" said Lucian seriously, looking at me.

"I'm always good," I smiled sticking my tongue out at him. "Besides, I'm going to be having fun with my new friends, right Lara and MaryAnn?" I grin mischeivously looking at Manolito and the other.

"Ummm, yeah." smiled the female with red-gold hair.

"Definitely," nodded MaryAnn looking up at Manolito with a mischief glint in her eye.

"I'll be back later to get you." Lucian said, kissing the top of my head.

"Yes dad," I grinned.

"See you later. Have fun," Lucian replied smiling and turning to leave causing my grin to drop and tears began to fill my eyes as a memory from three years ago filled my mind.

_"__Be good Ladybug," my dad grinned as I hugged his slender waist. "Don't give Ms. Daratrazanoff any problems."_

_"__Yes dad," I grinned rolling my eyes standing beside Skylar._

_"__See you later. Have fun," he smiled leaving the front porch. I watched as his average build frame got into his black Chevy Camaro. I waved at him happily as he drove off, never thinking that would be the last time I heard his voice again, or that less than 24-hours later I would be at the hospital with my older brother with doctors saying that they were sorry that they couldn't save him._

I was brought out of my reverie as I felt a tear slide down my cheek and a strong hand on my shoulder. "You will be back, right?" I asked, my throat feeling tight. Lucian turned and looked at me softly.

"Of course Keeyln. You have my word."

"Okay," I said, wiping my eyes and turning to MaryAnn. "can I meet the others now?"

Nicolas chuckled softly, removing his hand from my shoulder and letting us females in the house.

Lara and MaryAnn led me into living room where I met Colby, Rafael, Paul, Ginny, Juliette, Riordan, and Juliette's sister Jasmine. My nervousness and sadness brought from the memory of my father's death was replaced with excitement when Rafael asked about how I knew about Carpathians.

"Well, where do I start?" I laughed. "I learned about them in a novel series called the Dark series. It's my favorite series ever."

"And I take with your ramblings on the porch, you're favorites are us?" Manolito grinned as he stood behind MaryAnn who was sitting on the couch across from me.

"Of course," I smiled back. "The De La Cruz, Dragonseeker, and Malinovs are my favorites. Since Dark Secret when Rafael and Nicolas had to kill Kirja Malinov, I began rooting for the Malinovs, but in Dark Slayer, I found out that they were the bad guys, so then I felt bad. But, I have to say, Ivory is pretty cool." I nodded.

"Tell us about your stories." Riordan prompted.

"What do ya wanna know? Cuz I can tell you, I can talk all night about them." I laughed.

"Anything," he replied.

"Well that don't help you dope," I giggled, "but I guess I can do the basic stuff and then go from there. How's that?"

"That sounds good to me."

"Okay, the series is a series, but not a chronological one, meaning you can read any of them in whatever order. Dark Prince is first and that's Raven and Mikhail's story, but I'll get back to that. Anywho, each novel is based on lifemated pairs, such as Raven and Mikhail or Dominic and Solange. That's the quick and watered down version of what the series is about. There's 22 novels in all and I have them all." I grinned.

"You don't mind us reading them do you?" Nicolas asked wearily.

"Of course not, though, you're not getting my hard copies. I'll give you a copy of my ebooks. I don't lend any of my hard copies out...except for Skylar. Anyways, I would suggest that you start with Dark Curse, Nicolas." I giggled.

"What's Dark Curse?" asked Colby.

"Oh, it's Nicolas and Lara's story. If he reads that one first, he can see what a big dope he is." I laughed, getting everyone else laughing. "I have to say Lara, my favorite quote of all time comes from you. 'You might be the hottest man in the village, but your brain is about the size of a pea.'" Laughter roared from Nicolas's brothers.

When the laughter died down, Rafael looked at me seriously, "Keeyln, I have a question for you."

"Shoot," I said, laughter still present in my voice.

"Who's your number one favorite Carpathian and why?"

"And you look all serious for that? Ha. Male, Zacarias. Why? I have no earthly idea. I've liked him since he was mentioned in Dark Secret. Female, has to be Ivory because she's the only good Malinov left, plus she kicks ass...oops...butt. She kicks butt." I grinned.

"You mean to tell me, I'm not your favorite?" snorted Riodran. While everyone seemed to be in sad thoughts.

"Sorry, but no," I laughed. "My top five are Zacarias, Dominic, Nicolas, Rafael, and Manolito, only cause they're dopes." Rafael, Manolito, and Nicolas all looked like dumbfounded while everyone else laughed. "You got off to easy Rio."

"Did I?" he asked looking over at Juliette.

"Yeah, I mean your story was one of the shortest ones, and I have to say, you didn't do anything stupid. I think Falcon got it the easiest though, cause he wrote a diary to his lifemate and Sara ended up finding it and falling in love with him before she ever met him." I rambled, earning more laughs.

Hours flew by, and the next thing I knew, it was close to dawn. "Keeyln," Nicolas started, "since it is so close to dawn, why don't you stay here until nightfall."

"Sure," I sighed tiredly, snuggling closer into Rafael's shoulder. Just then, a piercing sensation entered my skull. 'Oh buggers,' I thought as my vision began to become spotted.

_A man with raven black hair that reached his broad shoulders was standing as dawn approached. His slashing steel grey eyes closed tiredly as the sun touched his light skin. He dropped to his knees as the sun rose higher, burning him. _

"NO!" I screamed as I jumped from Rafael and ran to the front door.

"Keelyn, it's not safe outside," Nicolas scolded as he stopped me from opening the door.

"Let me go Nicolas. Please. I'll be okay. I have to go." I pleaded as tears stung my eyes. I didn't know who he was, but I couldn't let him die, at least not alone. "Please. I have to save him."

Curiousness crept into Nicolas's face, and I took advantage and ran past him as dawn began to lighten the sky.

"No no no no," I chanted as I continued to run, ignoring my new friends' calls.


	6. Rescue

Author's note: Goodness, I forgot I had this chapter done=/ Super sorry. Anywho, I'm working on a new chapter. I have to admit my muse left me for a couple different story ideas, but before I start on those, I'll finish this one=D Thanks for all of the reviews and follows, I really really appreciate it.

* * *

Rescue

I ran and ran, ignoring the ache in my legs, burning of my lungs, and the sweat soaking my back. I had to get to him.

Soon I reached a clearing, and that's when I saw him. He was knealing down, his head bent down. My heart stammered in fear as I saw the ugly red blisters covering his exposed skin. "No," I whispered, ripping my coat off, ignoring the bitter cold, wrapping it and my body around him, trying to shield him from the rising sun.

'Get away from me' came a medolic voice in my head.

Knowing it was him, I shook my head, "I'm sorry, but I can't. I know it's your choice, but I cannot let you die. What about your lifemate?"

'I do not have one. You are in danger. Go now.' commanded the voice.

I smiled softly at him. "You're used to getting your way I see. And as for the danger, the sun is up, the undead are forced to ground and you don't look so dangerous at the moment. I cannot leave you."

'It is my choice.' he snarled.

"Yes, and saving you is mine." I snorted. "Do not argue with me."

'Leave me here.' he commanded again as I began to try and drag him to a dark cave entrance.

"Not a chance mister." I grunted as I finally succeeded into getting him in the cave. I glanced up and saw that the sun was now high in the sky. "Just in time." I turned around and removed my jacket from his face and my breath caught in my throat as I looked at his handsome features, trying to ignore the menace in his dark eyes.

'You will regret your decision,' came his voice.

"Rest and we'll discuss it later." I replied back as I began taking handfuls of the dark, rich soil underneath him and covering his body. As soon as I had a light cover of soil around him, I realized he had shut down his body and was sound asleep. I couldn't help but run my hands through his raven black hair.

'Keelyn, where are you?' Lucian's compelling voice commanded.

'Sorry I disobeyed Lucian. I just couldn't let him die.' I replied back sleepily, letting him 'see' through my eyes.

'You worried us,' Lucian said softly.

'I know. I just couldn't let him do it.' I said softly as my eyes drifted down.

'As soon as it is safe to do so, Mikhail and Gregori will be there with you. They are the closest ones to you.'

'Okay.' I replied back as I drifted off to sleep.


	7. Mikael and The Dark One

The Dark One and Prince

The sun began to sink behind the horizon when I jolted awake. "Young one," said a male voice softly.

"You must be Mikhail." I yawned, my hazel eyes looked up into dark obsidian eyes.

"Yes." he confirmed.

"Where's Gregori?" I asked.

"Right here." a melodic voice replied, revealing a large male with slashing silver eyes.

"Oh. Lucian told me you were coming. But I have to say that I cannot leave." I stated matter-of-factly.

"And why's that?" Mikhail asked.

"I can't leave him here unprotected." I said motioning at the sleeping hunter.

"Zacarias will be okay on his own." Gregori stated uneasily.

"Zacarias? As in Zacarias De La Cruz?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes. Did you not know?" Mikhail asked with curiousness.

"No, I saw him greeting the dawn and I couldn't let him do it. Well, when I first saw it, I didn't want him to be alone, but when I saw him saw him, I couldn't let him die." I confessed as four more hunters came.

"Keelyn, are you stupid?" asked a familiar voice. I looked to see the other De La Cruz brothers.

"Just dropped on my head a couple of times," I attempted to joke, when Manolito reached me.

"Do you realize what danger you put yourself into?" he scolded.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't let him die." I said sadly looking over at the sleeping Zacarias. I couldn't help but think how peaceful he looked.

"What do you mean?" Nicolas asked, trying to push in my mind.

"Please don't do that." I asked rubbing my temples trying to rub the piercing pain away. "I have visions, and I saw him greeting the dawn. I wanted to be by his side, you know because he was alone. Then when I saw him, I had to save him. It was like I was drawn to him," I rambled, wringing my fingers. Soon I was wrapped in a soft hug.

"It's okay sweetie," said a feminine voice. I looked up and seen Colby. Though they said it was okay, I still felt bad. He wanted to end his life, if it was true of who he was, he deserved to have a choice, and I took it away.

"Why don't we go back to the house and talk about it," coaxed Mikhail.

"Okay," I agreed hesitantly. "But first, can I have a moment alone with him? He's asleep, so it's not like I'm in any danger."

The hunters looked at one another worriedly. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," Colby said.

"Please. Five minutes." I plead. "You guys don't have to be far. I just want a moment. Please."

Gregori snorted and said, "five minutes, and we'll be right outside."

I watched in wonder as the six hunters and Colby walked outside the cave.


End file.
